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Cloudy Water, help!!

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Hello all I've been having issues with my tank having cloudy water and I've tried just about everything in the world to get rid of it but I can't. The cloudiness is whiteish in color, which typically indicative of a bacteria bloom but my parameters are perfect. The tank has been consistently cloudy for the better part of 2 months but there have been days during that time period where it was CRYSTAL clear for a few days and then went back to cloudy.

About the tank, the tank is a moderately to heavily planted 33 gallon fluval studio aquarium with a fluval 205 canister filter DIY CO2 system and an air stone.

Water parameters are as follows: temperature 82 Ferinheight, pH is around 6.8, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 0 nitrate.

My current stock is a mated pair of angles, a mated pair of german blue rams, 6 harlequin rasboras, and 6 cory catfish.

I have tried adding a UV sterilizer, adding pads to my filter for smaller particles, feeding less, and adding clarifier. None of which have had lasting results. The tank has been up and running for about a year and was cycled using media from a previous tank back in May of 2012.

I've been considering replacing the filter with a fluval 306 canister as I know my 205 is technically too small but since I have perfect water parameters I have put off throwing $120 into the tank without knowing if it will help the problem. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Bacterial Bloom is the result a heterotrophic bacteria explosion in the tank due to too much organics/waste in the tank. Autotrophic bacteria do not consume organics, they primarily consume ammonia at a more efficient rate than heterotrophic bacteria. Do a large water change, like close to 75%.

The reason you get a clear aquarium at times is because the amount of organics is reduced for that period of time and autotrophic bacteria outnumber the heterotrophic bacteria.

What concerns me is the 0 nitrate reading, which tends to be the result of a loss of cycle in the tank. Are you testing with a freshwater liquid test kit?

I fought that same issue for a while and here is the few things I could think it is:

1. Slightly underfiltered in a over stocked tank (the over stock is ok, just need some more filtration) - try this last as it is the biggest investment
2. Air stone could be kicking up substrate like fishmommie said
3. Any driftwood in the tank? I noticed mine tinted the water, and with the lights on it looked cloudy
4. Nitrate's of 0 doesn't always mean loss of cycle, but I would keep an eye on it. My 55 always reads at 0 Nitrates b/c of heavy planting
5. You could try adding Purigen in the filter. I added a small amount to my tank and the water is crystal clear

If you want something cheaper than purigen, granulated activated carbon is the one to get but it only lasts 2-3 weeks. It still won't solve the long term problem of too much organics in the water column.

I agree that the heavy planting is helping the TrAtes stay low but zero Trates are typically only seen in LIGHTLY stocked heavily planted tanks. As mentioned the overstocking is the root of the issue. [My 206 runs on a lightly stocked 20G.]

Just a heads up - The degree of cover is obviously helping but... IF one of those angels decides the tank is 'mine' it won't be pretty because there will be nowhere for the rest of the stock to run. More filtration will help not alleviate this particular footprint issue in the long run.

Gas mileage isn't everythingOIIIIIIIOLack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.Why pretend there are no stupid questions? Actually, There are many stupid questions: "Should I drink this bleach?" Is just one example.
Having said that, Just because it's a stupid question doesn't mean that it shouldn't be asked. It's better to know.A warm beer is better than a cold beer. Because nothing is better than a cold beer, and a warm beer is better than nothing.

Tank was cycled back in May of 2012. I am using the API Liquid Test kit and it always shows 0 everything. The tank is more heavily planted than moderately (2 large amazon swords, one large water whysteria, two large anubus plants, one large mystery plant, one large stem type plant, and one small plant in the front) sorry I don't know much about plant species.

There is driftwood in the tank but it isn't tinted a brownish color at all.

I have added purigen and it didn't help.

Airstone is not buried so thats a no go.

And I have preformed large (about 75%) and they help but not in the long run.

Currently I'm dosing with ferts to see if that helps if it is a algae bloom if that doesn't help I'll try upping the filtration to a fluval 306 (rated for 70 gallons)

If it was a loss of the cycle wouldn't I be showing ammonia and nitrites from my test kit??